“So over $1 million per doctor on the website?” Senator David Pocock asked department officials at budget estimates.
It was designed to be a platform for people to compare out-of-pocket fees doctors charge for specialist procedures, so they could shop around and find the best deal. TheBut almost five years after it launched, just 20 doctors out of the 36,000 specialists nationwide have provided their fees for listing.
“We have a website which allows people to compare fees,” health department deputy secretary Penny Shakespeare said. “You could have the vast majority of people who visit being bitterly disappointed,” the senator said. David, speaking on behalf of health insurers, said more transparency was required given recent data collected by her organisation showed. She said health funds could not keep chasing doctors’ rising out-of-pocket fees without contributing to health inflation or bumping up consumer premiums.
Chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum, Elizabeth Deveny, said the patient advocacy group continued to be disappointed by the small number of doctors adding their fees to the website.“We know there is a need for this service. Australians absolutely want an easy way to find out how much their medical procedure or appointment will cost them,” she said.
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